Gone were the days of "level 1", as stage numbers were replaced with immense towns connected by "level-like" areas filled with an amass of monsters. Simon switched out his "Get through the castle and win." Strategy with a more mature story arch, following the now-cursed adventurer as he gathered the pieces of Dracula in an attempt to resurrect the dark lord and again kill him, breaking the curse that was left a the end of the original Castlevania. Candles were removed from the equation as hearts - still the currency of the Castlevania world - could now only be found from killing enemies. In addition, sub-weapons such as daggers, axes, and holy water were now found only once throughout the game and kept from then on, acting more as quest items than traditional support weaponry. The result: The first evolutionary step towards our current-day design, as Castlevania moved from action to true adventure.

Shown above: An official piece of Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse promotional art. Much of the older Castlevania games lack current-day high-res art, as the majority of the original content was lost in a major earthquake during the late 90's in Kobe, Japan.Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse:With two solid titles under its belt, the Castlevania franchise embarked on its final NES iteration with Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse. Though the jump from Castlevania to Simon's Quest was amazingly large, Dracula's Curse acted almost as a bridge between the two titles, featuring a new lead character, a combination of open-ended gameplay along with distinct level layouts, and a few new gameplay elements to boot.Unlike Simon's Quest, Castlevania III wasn't focused on as many of the role-playing elements as it could have been. Instead, gameplay was returned to level-based platforming and a ton of combat, centered around the same basic principles of the original game: Whip candles, jump pits, fight bosses, and stay alive. Introducing Trevor Belmont, the second born in a line of vampire hunters, the game is set in 1476 over 200 years previous to both Castlevania (1691) and Simon's Quest (1698). Though the game is essentially a prequel to the existing franchise, it brought about a ton of elements that are still carried on in the series today, as the game was the first of its kind to include multiple playable characters (each sharing a main health bar), as well as the first Castlevania title to introduce Alucard (son of Count Dracula, hence the reversed name spelling) who later became a huge player in the series with Symphony of the Night. As a more traditionally-rooted game, Dracula's Curse goes back to true platforming, though the story arch splits at numerous points throughout the game, which inevitably determine the outcome. Playable characters include Trevor Belmont, Sypha (a cleric of the Eastern Church), a pirate by the name of Grant, and of course, Alucard. The First "Next Generation" of Gaming:Riding off the success of the initial three NES titles - as well as two Game Boy games and an arcade appearance - Konami decides to keep the franchise going as the first true generational leap is conducted in gaming. With both the Super Nintendo and SEGA Genesis gunning for lead position, the company decides to give support to both consoles - at least with the Castlevania franchise. In 1991 Super Castlevania IV (it had to be super, since it was on the "Super Nintendo") hit Nintendo's new console, followed by the legendary Castlevania Bloodlines for SEGA Genesis in '94. Both games are held extremely high with the Castlevania community, as they both implemented new techniques - some successes, some failures - and continued to drive the franchise to legendary status among hardcore gamers.Super Castlevania IV:Releasing in December of 1991, Super Castlevania IV was the first of the franchise to land on the Super Nintendo console. As a remake of the original Castlevania game on NES, Super Castlevania IV is set in 1691 and follows Simon Belmont during his first quest, adding in new levels and more functionality due to the Super Nintendo's technical abilities.